Brunswick High gets new assistant principal

BRUNSWICK — Following the abrupt resignation of high school Principal Art Abelmann, the School Board has hired a new assistant principal and extended the retirement date of interim Principal Donna Borowick.

The board voted unanimously Wednesday night to extend Borowick’s retirement date to Dec. 31, and hire current technology educator Tim Gagnon as the Brunswick High School’s new assistant principal.

“She had planned to be able to retire and rehire (as interim principal after Abelmann left),” Superintendent of Schools Paul Perzanoski said. “But there was a glitch in her retirement formula and they said that she actually had to work until Dec. 31.”

Before Abelmann was hired, Borowick served as interim principal for the 2011-2012 school year. One of the interim assistant principals who served under her as the time was Gagnon, who will now take that role in a permanent capacity.

“He’s a proven entity,” Perzanoski said. “He’s proven he can do the job. He has the support of the staff, he’s well known within the community, and he’s well known with the students.”

Gagnon is currently a technology educator for the high school, though he has also filled in for various administrators when they’ve been ill, Perzanoski said. He has been with the school district as both an administrator and a teacher since 2003.

Perzanoski said the School Department posted a listing for the assistant principal job in May, formed an interview committee and narrowed a field of three candidates down to one by the end of the month.

The department’s normal hiring protocol is to post job listings in-house before looking for candidates outside the district, Perzanoski said. If there are quality candidates from within, the department interviews them first.

Perzanoski said a search committee for a new high school principal will likely be formed soon. He said the details of the committee’s makeup and process will then be made available to the public.